“What is the difference between Standard Modern Diet versus Paleo Diet”

There is one thing in this world that connects us all and that is none other than food. All of us need to eat so we can thrive as humans. Some eat for survival, while others eat with over abundance.

Sadly, not all of us consume food the way we should. We resort to eating easily accessible processed food in our diets without thinking twice if this is good for our body or not.

Only because its easier to eat, takes less time to prepare and of course, more affordable. Our modern and fast paced lifestyles have forced us to eat foods that are not entirely nutritious.

Staying on a healthy eating habit tend to be more of a chore and eating more naturally produced foods, such as a Paleo diet, is usually the last thing we would consider to include in our diets.

Think about it.

Which type of food would you instinctively prefer to eat first? A quarter pound cheese burger with large fries and coke readily available upon order or prepare a 20-minute fresh green salad with grilled salmon and a glass of warm filtered water?

We all have our own tastes for our meal but with the constant pressure of living in our fast paced modern world, most of us would just end up eating fast foods just to get our fill.

Now eating fast and convenient food for the sake of getting filled up is not something you should live up for.

It can not only wreck havoc in your body and increase your risk to cancer and other chronic diseases.

So before you eat that quarter pound burger for lunch, learn to understand first the difference between standard modern diet and Paleo diet and what it can do to your body.

Standard modern diet

It is recommended that our standard modern diet should include a small portion of meat, oils and dairy; half portion of fruits, vegetables and fish, and a large chunk of it all reserved for grains, breads and starches.

Unfortunately, this diet is overshadowed by the fact that most of us don’t eat like this at all.

The majority of people would opt to eat in equal portions of highly processed meat, dairy, oils, grains and breads

We also add this type of diet with high-fructose drinks and beverages labeled as “zero-calories” or “low-fat” thinking that it will help us loose weight.

The sad part is that we are gaining more weight and getting sicker too than we really should.

Let’s break the standard modern diet even further.

Eating too much red meat is not entirely harmful for us. What is harmful is eating the manufactured and processed versions of these meats such as hot dogs, hams and burgers.

These type of meat are mixed with artificial flavoring, food coloring, chemically processed & unhealthy fats, salt, sweeteners and other preservatives to prolong its shelf life.

Sure these foods is awesome for a tasty meal but it stripped off with the essential nutrients your body truly needs.

Another food we unknowingly eat too much of is dairy and seed processed oils.

Cows milk, for example, is healthy for a calf but it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be good for people too.

The lactose in milk can make a person feel nauseated while the protein casein found in cows milk may lead to serious health problems such as triggering our body’s autoimmune response.

Casein protein may also cause changes in our mood, perception and behavior.

Seed oils on the other hand have high levels of trans fats which was then considered as a “good oil” to consume. In reality, trans fat may increase your risk of cancer twice as much as saturated fats.

Next in line are grains and breads that we can’t help but eat. Carbohydrates in itself is not harmful to us, what does harm us is the Gluten and WGA (wheat germ agglutinin) protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

Gluten causes gut inflammation and intestinal cells to die prematurely which leads to us having a “leaky gut”. This goes the same way with WGA too.

The WGA protein can cause bacterial overgrowth in our gut which then leads to all sorts of digestive problems like GERD and ulcers.

The effects of living on a standard modern diet varies from person to person and its health problems may occur earlier or later in life.

But the saying does holds true that Prevention is always better than the cure.

Paleo Diet

Now that you have a glimpse of the effects of living on a standard modern diet, let’s take a peek into the Paleo diet.

Paleo also known as the paleolithic diet or caveman diet, is based on the types of foods that our pre-agricultural human ancestors have eaten. Foods such as naturally grown fruits, vegetables, wild fish and grass-fed meats.

It is important to note that most of these foods are based on a hunter and gatherer way of eating, wherein meat and fish is the main source of protein, while vegetables and fruits is to gain essential nutrients our body truly needs.